23 September 2013

Something old instead of something new!

Not my words......I am dedicating this post to my lovely mate Mrs Hardy who gave me this mantle!

A couple of years back the lovely Mrs Hardy turned 40 and of course I was invited to her fabulous birthday lunch and pamper day at Babbington House. We have been close friends about 7/8 years since the birth of our babies who were born just a couple of days apart, although we have known of each other for more like 20 years. Anyway suffice as to say she knows me pretty well and on the day of the lunch she had made a little personalised gift for everyone in attendance (she is one very creative lady) as she wanted us to have something special to remember the day by! For every guest she had made a little plaque with a sentence to sum us up.........the above was mine!

I still have this picture on display in my bedroom today as a lovely reminder of a fab day, great friend and the honour of the title of 'Michelle's vintage beats Paris fashion'. There is story behind how I came into a lot of my lovely vintage things and as a change to telling you about any retail therapy I may have participated in this week I thought I would share the tale and some photo's of my pre-loved haul.

Going back a few years I visited my Uncle who lives in deepest darkest Monmouthshire! He invited me over for lunch one day as he was fully aware of my passion for fashion and had mentioned that he had lots of clothing from a house he had cleared and asked if I would like to have a look through it. Cue a squeal of excitement from me as little did he know that I love a bit of vintage! Jeez....what a stash of booty he had!! I was like a kid at Christmas! There were 19 suitcases full of beautiful clothes!! The lady who had previously owned them had had one fabulous lifestyle which involved lots of cruising and boy did she have all the gear for it!! There were garments from the 60's, 70's and 80's and what's more.....luckily for me it was all in my size!! I had a huge trying on session and my Uncle very kindly said I could help myself!! 3 bin bags later I came away with some really amazing finds. So here are some photos of some of my favourites.

I love this quirky printed dress which always puts me in mind of a Prada type print.

Next up is something you may remember seeing me in before for my wedding outfit dilemma! I always feel terribly glamorous in this!

I did in fact end up wearing some vintage to the aforementioned wedding as it was quite a chilly day and I remembered this gorgeous little vintage cardy that I thought would be just perfect with the dress I was wearing!

It deserves a photo all of it's own. It's so pretty, I've even worn it with skinny's and metallic pumps during the day.

Back to the dresses, the next 2 are just such a brilliant shift shape that would take you anywhere

It's all very dressy sparkly stuff! I love this Frank Usher top which has had a few outings during the party season. It's brilliant as it's so easy to bring up to date, wearing it here with pleather panelled leggings courtesy of H&M but this would look just as fab with my River Island midi pencil skirt!

Some more sparkles in the way of a few evening jackets. I feel like I'm having a 'Mad Men' moment in this outfit!

This one is cream and covered in pearly sequins.

This one has seen a lot of outings come Christmas time, great over a dress or coated skinny's.﻿

Last but not least is the item that I have easily had the most wear out of. The style of this coat is just so timeless and has been worn with boots and skinny's for daywear but has also totally glammed up some evening looks and has been much appreciated for the warmth in the wee hours after partying hard!

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You are bound to see me putting some of these pieces to good use with the up and coming party season just around the corner! Anyone else have a real passion for pre-loved? Which is your favourite item? How would you style these pieces to bring them bang-up-to-date? Would love to hear your thoughts on my bit of vintage!

Quick round up of what threads I've been sporting these past few days.

School run mum look.

Zara Sweatshirt

Gap Real Straight Jeans

Converse

Efurt scarf

My lovely friend Mrs Hardy's birthday dinner & drinks

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Whistles Blazer

River Island Top

Topshop Leigh Jeans

Acne Boots

Warehouse Clutch

A trip to the museum with mini-me!

And finally a comfy outfit for chillaxing at home

Gap T

Mango trousers

New Look pumps

New Look Necklace

Mango Cuff

This weird warm but drizzily weather we are having at the moment has me stumped wardrobe wise!! What to wear?? I'm desperate to put on some of my new purchases but am trying to eek out a few last wears of the Summer stuff that I haven't already packed away! Are you having the same dilemma?? I'm off to sift through my rails in search of something to keep me cool but that still looks seasonal......wish me luck! :0) x

I must admit Lynne, before I was given this lovely lot I probably wouldn't have looked at vintage that much but since I've had it, I do tend to look through the vintage clothing if I go to antique markets. I did get a great Precis petite vintage cape at the huge Flea Market that they hold on Lansdown race course. There is also a great little shop in Bath called Scarlett Vintage which stock some lovely pieces. We are pretty spoilt for great places to buy vintage in the South West!

Why, thank you very much Sian! I do love to mix things up a bit and feel very lucky that I have some great pieces which are easy to bring up to date with current wardrobe staples like coated skinny's and pencil skirts. Hopefully I will be passing this little lot on to my daughter......would be great to see how she will be styling them in 10 years time!

I really enjoyed this post. Sometimes it's not always about the new stuff but how you come across things and how these older pieces slot in to your wardrobe. And I am so envious of the whole collection! I used to be much more in to vintage items when I was younger but I never came across anything so lovely as what you have. I do however have an old beaded cardigan from Topshop which you have just reminded me of which I will need to dust off to see if I can still fit in it. What's great about all the pieces you have is that they don't look dated but unique - you wear them in a very modern way which is more difficult than it sounds. If done wrong, the look can be frumpy but looking at you in all these outfits, you are anything but.

I did good with this lot didn't I Sue!! It is very satisfying to have some bits in the wardrobe that are totally unique but that still look so classical that you can make them look modern by putting them with current pieces!! I do still have a few designer bits from my first job in a clothes store in Bath which I've kept!! Think I shall have to put together a post about my time there and do a little show and tell of things I got when I worked there which would also now be classed as vintage! x

Amazing vintage pieces Michelle! The coat is just gorgeous isn't it & bang on trend too! I would of been like a kid in a candy store with 19 cases to dig through too! Sue is right you selected so well & wear them all is such a modern manner! Ax